State gets loan to cover unemployment benefits

South Carolina employment officials are taking steps to shore up the trust fund that pays benefits to out-of-work residents.
   
The state has received a $15 million loan from the U.S. Labor Department to supplement the remaining $64 million in the unemployment insurance trust fund.
   
Employment Security Commission executive director Ted Halley says South Carolina is paying about $10 million a week in benefits. The state’s jobless rate hit a 15-year high of 7.6 percent in
August with a slight improvement in September to 7.3 percent.
   
The commission is expected to release unemployment figures for October on Friday.
   
Employers pay taxes to fund unemployment benefits. Halley says the rate employers pay hasn’t changed in seven years.